Look around and you’ll find not one or two, but tons and tons of elements of nature and I chose to keep them in my camera. Wildlife and nature photography is one most exciting fields as it captures one of the most dynamic elements of the environment- wild flora and fauna.
During my college days, I became very fascinated with taking photographs of insects, moths, butterflies and their beautiful patterns and details. And then I started identifying and reading about them. And this helped me to go deeper into photography.
Birding was one of the first things I started ten years now. I have done birding in many parts of India and mostly in Northeast India. Almost 1350 bird species are found in India and more than half of them are found in the Northeast. So far, I have seen and witnessed 550 species of birds. It’s magical!
Birds are very good indicators of a healthy ecosystem. They cover different and various habitats like forests, mountains, wetlands, deserts, grasslands, etc. for their food and nesting grounds, which is very interesting. Some birds play the role of seed disperses, some are keeping the number of insects in check by feeding on them and some help in pollination too.
Photography brings me closer to nature and helps me experience nature and how nature works. When I capture the essence of nature through photography, I feel a sense of satisfaction and inner peace within myself.
Nature helped me to see things in a different perspective, it helped me to give value to any living creature and understand the hardships it goes through, which even us humans can relate to.
All over the world, we have seen the destruction of natural habitats because of many factors such as habitat encroachment, climate change, hunting, different development projects in and around protected areas which has reduced the natural habitat and led to increased human and wildlife conflict issues. I’ve been photographing for years and I’ve seen and felt how the destruction is increasing with each passing day.
The solution, however, is conserving habitats of the wildlife; the animals will be saved automatically. also, educate your family and young generation towards nature and conservation and its importance.
More and more people should start photographing nature and the wild as they will learn and be aware of so many aspects. Not to forget the ethics and rules of wildlife photography and must have respect towards nature. Try to bring out stories from your photographs that can help people to understand the importance of conserving and valuing nature.